Tag Archives: metabolism and weight gain

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As you enter the 40s, 50s and 60s, you may have noticed that it gets increasingly harder to keep off excess weight. You’re eating the same portions, and even less sometimes, but you notice an increase in weight gain. Things you used to eat and quantities you used to eat get tricky. Well as you age your body’s metabolism slows down. What this means is that your body burns fat at a slower rate. So although you may be eating the same as always, or even a little less, your body’s reduced efficiency at burning fat means that fat gets deposited in places you don’t want – mostly stomach and thighs – instead of being burnt up and away. There is hope yet. How and what you eat can help to keep you from gaining extra pound and save the day. Here’s how.

Tips for Eating to Avoid Weight Gain

1. Eat slowly: People who eat slower consume less since they tend to feel full faster than people who eat quickly.
2. Eat small portions more often: If you eat one large meal on a given day you give your body too much work to digest the food and there is increased likelihood of some of that excess food being turned into fat. If however you eat small portions of food every 4 hours, you maintain a steady blood sugar level and you increase your body’s metabolism, which results in more efficient burning of fat.
3. Do not eat your primary meal in the afternoon or at night: You use most of your energy during the day so your primary meals should be breakfast and lunch. Thereafter, you increase your body’s likelihood of storing fat since food eaten in the afternoon and especially at night will not be burned up by the body in energy intensive activities but stored as fat instead since you are a lot less active at night.
4. Eat more fruits, vegetables and lean protein: Fruit and vegetables are rich in fiber and are very filling for a long time. Breads, pastries and manufactured snacks, however, contain too much carbohydrates that give a filling feeling initially and empty calories which contribute to weight gain.